Heretofore, various horn actuating buttons and switches have been connected to rotate with the steering wheel of the vehicle. Consequently, the electrical circuit wires leading thereto are wound up and allowed to unwind every time steering corrections are made. This leads to a reduced service life of the wires and even shorting out or failure thereof.
To overcome this problem, some relatively sophisticated rotary sliding electrical connections have been adopted. However, these systems are difficult to install in the limited space available in and around the steering wheel, and are also excessively costly in construction.
Still another problem is that the vehicle operator is frequently turning the steering wheel with one hand while simultaneously making frequent directional changes with the transmission shifting mechanism with the other. Accordingly, the horn actuating button must be conveniently located within the normal work area of at least one of his hands. In the case of operating an electrically driven fork lift truck, for example, and to avoid the problems mentioned above, the horn button should be closely associated with the directional control lever rather than the steering wheel for reasons of economy of motion.